San Francisco 49ers: Ranking Remaining Offseason Priorities
The San Francisco 49ers already did most of the heavy lifting on their offseason checklist.
They fired the previous coaching staff, hired new coaches, decided which free agents to re-sign and let go, signed eight free agents from other teams and selected 10 players in the draft.
All that’s left for the Niners to do is organize the roster. Which players on the bubble deserve a spot on the team? Which players deserve to start? Who should replace Justin Smith? Who should replace Patrick Willis? How will the Niners use Reggie Bush?
And what’s the plan for Colin Kaepernick? Can the Niners help him improve?
Here are the 49ers' top five offseason priorities.
5. Determining If Jarryd Hayne Merits a Roster Spot
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This offseason, the 49ers gave former rugby star Jarryd Hayne a three-year deal with $115,100 guaranteed. If he makes the final roster next season, his base salary will be $435,000—the same base salary as second-round pick Jaquiski Tartt.
Hayne has never played football, but he’s a world-class athlete and in his prime. The 27-year-old was the National Rugby League Player of the Year in 2009 and 2014. The Niners seem to believe he’s naturally gifted enough to pick up a new sport in his late 20s.
They list him as a running back, but he will probably be just a return specialist at first. The Niners already have four running backs. They need another returner.
They need to find out if Hayne can be that guy. And they can’t find out until he plays in a full-speed preseason game.
4. Creating a Role in the Offense for Reggie Bush
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Hayne merely is a special teams player. Bush is the Niners’ No. 2 running back, and he’s more important than Hayne.
As a running back, Bush is so-so—a small scatback who struggles running between the tackles. His 4.3 career yards-per-carry average is decent, but nothing special.
He made his career as a pass-catcher out of the backfield. During nine seasons in the NFL, Bush has 466 catches—43 more than Vernon Davis. Both Bush and Davis were drafted in 2006.
Bush must get a few passes per game. Otherwise, he’s pretty much useless. And that’s the rub: The 49ers rarely throw to tailbacks. Last season, Kaepernick threw only 35 passes to tailbacks.
Some teams have a third-down back who specializes in catching passes, like Bush. But the Niners usually ask their tailback to block on third down. That’s because the Niners offensive line is better at run blocking than pass blocking. It needs extra help on passing downs.
The 49ers need to tweak their offensive philosophy to incorporate Bush.
3. Figuring out a Rotation of Defensive Linemen
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As important as Bush is, he’s still just the backup running back. He’s an ancillary part of the offense, which is an ancillary part of the team. The Niners build around their defense, specifically the defensive line.
Most teams use a rotation of defensive linemen to keep each one fresh. The Niners didn’t have to use a rotation the past few seasons. Justin Smith and Ray McDonald were the rotation.
They were the starters, and they were too good to take off the field. They didn’t need rest. They were as ferocious in the fourth quarter as they were in the first.
Now they’re gone. Well, Smith isn’t officially gone, but he’s as good as gone. The Niners must figure out how to replace him and McDonald, too.
The most likely solution is a rotation of players. The Niners have six or seven solid defensive linemen, but none as dominant as Smith or McDonald.
The Niners could use certain defensive linemen in the base defense and other defensive linemen in the sub-packages. It’s one of many options to consider.
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2. Figuring out a Rotation of Inside Linebackers
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However the Niners decide to use their defensive linemen next season, they should have a pretty good defensive line. It’s a deep positional group.
The Niners do not have a deep group of inside linebackers; that group is thin and shaky. San Francisco has Michael Wilhoite, a poor run defender and a fringe starter. It also has Philip Wheeler, a poor pass defender and a fringe starter.
And they have NaVorro Bowman, a formerly great player coming off a torn ACL and MCL. He probably shouldn’t play every snap next season, as his knee will need rest.
Which means the Niners need to figure out the best way to use all three inside linebackers. Not one of them is a full-time player, and all three are question marks.
1. Building on Colin Kaepernick’s Offseason Training
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For the Niners, nothing is more important than Kaepernick’s development.
He hasn’t developed much since becoming the Niners' starting quarterback in 2012. He still has the same weaknesses: reading defenses, going through progressions, footwork and touch.
He spent three months this offseason at EXOS training facility in Phoenix to improve his weaknesses. Good for him, but he still has more learning to do.
The Niners can’t let him think he’s a great quarterback who just needed a quick refresher on the basics. He isn’t a great quarterback—not yet, anyway. His passer rating ranked 20th in the NFL last season. He needs to build on the work he did at EXOS.
He also has to build a relationship with the new quarterbacks coach, Steve Logan. Logan has never coached quarterbacks in the NFL. He has coached quarterbacks only in college.
Will Kaepernick listen to Logan? Will Kaepernick respect him?
If not, the Niners need a different quarterbacks coach. Or a different quarterback.
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